Fulltext

HIV and hepatitis virus infections among injecting drug users in a medically controlled heroin prescription programme

STEFFEN, THOMAS ; BLATTLER, RICHARD ; GUTZWILLER, FELIX ; ZWAHLEN, MARCEL

In: The European Journal of Public Health, 2001, vol. 11, no. 4, p. 425-430

Zum persönliche Liste hinzufügen
    Titel
    • HIV and hepatitis virus infections among injecting drug users in a medically controlled heroin prescription programme
    Autor
    • STEFFEN, THOMAS. Addiction Research Institute Zurich, Switzerland
    • BLATTLER, RICHARD. Addiction Research Institute Zurich, Switzerland
    • GUTZWILLER, FELIX. Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Zurich Switzerland
    • ZWAHLEN, MARCEL. Swiss Federal Office of Public Health Switzerland
    Dokumententyp
    • Postprint
    Sprache
    • Englisch
    Veröffentlicht in
    • The European Journal of Public Health, 2001, vol. 11, no. 4, p. 425-430. Oxford University Press
    Andere elektronische Ausgabe
    OAI-PMH-ID
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:295720
    Summary
    Background: In Switzerland, 1,035 patients were accepted for admission to the medically controlled prescription of narcotics programme (PROVE) from 1 January 1994 until 31 December 1996. Heroin, methadone, and morphine were prescribed. This paper presents the prevalence and incidence of HIV and hepatitis B/C infections in the sociomedical context of the participants. Methods: Admission criteria were a minimum age of 20 years, at least a two-year duration of daily heroin consumption, a negative outcome of at least two previous treatments, and documented social and health deficits as a consequence of their heroin dependence. The patients were examined at admission and every six months. A serological test was carried out at the same time for HIV and hepatitis B/C. Results: Serological testing on admission could be performed in more than 80% of the entrants and documented a very high seroprevalence of antibodies against HBcore (73%) and HCV (82%). The prevalence of HIV and hepatitis B/C increased with duration of drug intake. In the follow-up analysis of seronegative individuals, a halving of the risk of viral hepatitis infection was shown when comparing the first six months with the period greater then six months after PROVE entry. Conclusion: The tests conducted showed high prevalence and incidence rates of HIV and hepatitis B/C among patients who had consumed intravenous drugs for years. The descriptive analysis in heroin-assisted treatment showed a reduction in infection risk for viral hepatitis corresponding to the lower risk behaviour of patients